


Midnight Train

by seungsols



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life, theres no tag for mingyus conscious but itd be a valid character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 03:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14535528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seungsols/pseuds/seungsols
Summary: Maybe night shifts weren't as bad as Mingyu and Soonyoung would have ever thought.





	Midnight Train

 

Mingyu rubbed his eyes drowsily. He stood up from his desk after the monitor turned off and tucked his rolling chair under. Stretching, he let out a grunt as he felt the muscle tension throughout his body after sitting down for so long. The office was practically empty omit him, a few managers, and the custodians. Checking the time, he grunted at how late it already was according to his watch.

“Ten minutes,” he mumbled to himself. He slung the messenger bag over his head and on his shoulder as he sped to the elevator. Mingyu stood there patiently by himself before one of the custodians joined him. They nodded at each other, Mingyu motioning the other to go first when the door opened.

“Oh, you're so kind,” he spoke as he entered first. Mingyu followed right after, leaning against the wall as the elevator slowly moved to the ground floor. Checking his phone again, Mingyu scrunched his nose. He had seven minutes to get to the last train. “You seem in a rush,” the custodian observed.

Mingyu looked up and shoved his phone in his pocket. He cleared his throat. “Mr. Choi— I just… have to get home, sir.”

“Someone waiting for you?”

“Ah,” Mingyu coughed with a blush. “No, I live by myself. I just… want to get home as soon as possible.” 

“Just because?”

Mingyu nodded slowly, tapping the phone in his pocket anxiously. Even though he did appreciate the nice small talk that Mr. Choi offered, Mingyu really wanted to go home. But, just as he had answered non verbally, he didn’t have a real reason. He just wanted to be home, which was ironic of him to say since he wasn’t the homebody type.

He bowed to the elder before rushing out of the elevator, out of the building, and down to the train station. While running up the stairs, he could already hear the train on the tracks in motion as it was slowly approaching. Mingyu quickly scanned the ticket through the upper-deck gate and rushed towards the doors. Luckily, he barely made it in before the doors shut behind him.

With a sigh of relief, Mingyu found a seat and sat down, leaning back and slowly sinking in his seat. It wasn’t difficult to find a seat as there were many available seats left. His section of the train was as empty as the others, that’s how it’s usually been during the last rounds for the train. He still wasn’t used to being so lonely on the train. There were times where Mingyu actually missed the rush hour traffic and cramped quarters within. Ever since that promotion he received, he’s been staying at the office later and later, eventually falling into a routine where he was one of the few staff members left after a majority of the company already clocked out. He was paid overtime, so it wasn’t like he was wasting his time or anything since he’s compensated for it. However, that’s the thing: Mingyu doesn’t can spend as much time he wants at the office because no matter what time he gets off, he has nothing to look forward to afterwards.

This habitual pattern of catching the last train before the subway closed was the only adrenaline or excitement that was offered to Mingyu in his monotonous life. Even so, it didn’t offer much excitement on account that if he actually did miss the train, he would have to spend more money on a taxi and then distressfully direct the driver to his apartment when he would rather be sleeping already. (It happened once. Mingyu and the driver—a nice, older gentleman—had some rather opinionated arguments on whether or not a tomato was a fruit or a vegetable. Mingyu never wants to go through those horrors ever again.)

There was a loud slam from his left side and Mingyu was shaken out of his thoughts. He looked over and saw who he assumed was a train conductor. (The vest that gave off an eighties vibe paired with the newsie boy hat were a dead giveaway.) Mingyu coughed as he pulled out his wallet and pulled out his train ticket, holding it up for the conductor to tick off. The conductor was in no rush—nor was Mingyu—and leisurely strolled over.

“Seems like you’re the only ticket I’m checking tonight, huh?” the conductor asked in an attempt to make small talk.

Mingyu nodded as he handed his ticket over, rubbing his right eye. “Yeah. I guess I’m the only one who rides the train this late, huh?”

“Hm, I wouldn’t say that. I mean, I’m here.” Passing back Mingyu’s ticket back with a snicker, the conductor tipped his hat. “You do this often?”

“I’ve been working later at night. So yeah.” Mingyu wasn’t entirely sure why he had subtly agreed to engage into a conversation with such a surprisingly enthusiastic human in the nightly hours, but it’s not like he had anything better to do. “Seems you’re working late too.”

The conductor shrugged. “I don’t really have much of a choice with how my schedule is.” Checking the time, he clicked his tongue, a sign of disappointment. “I should check to see if anyone else is here as well. You’d be surprised how many kids hop on here thinking I won’t catch them.” He turned to Mingyu and put out his hand for a formal greeting. “Soonyoung.” Mingyu reached over and shook Soonyoung’s hand firmly and replied back with his own name. “Wow. That was a good handshake,” Soonyoung chuckled.

Mingyu smiled back before leaning back once more before shrugging at the compliment. “You need that in the business world.” Soonyoung hummed in agreement before checking the time again and gasping. He quickly walked into the other cart, leaving Mingyu alone with his thoughts once again. It was a strange encounter. Usually, Mingyu would have a conductor check his ticket towards the end of the train ride as his stop was second to last before the train needed to go back to its home station. However, despite being exhausted from the day’s work and stressed from thinking about tomorrow, he didn’t mind Soonyoung’s small talk. In fact, it was probably the highlight of his day (which goes to show Mingyu’s day is  _ definitely _ filled with excitement).

He arrived home just ten minutes before midnight. Mingyu wasn't sure if he should eat since it's so late already, but he figured he might as well. After changing into sweats and a hoodie, he turned on the stove and dumped the leftover rice from two days ago. He played with the strings of his hoodie as he was waiting for the pan to heat up before he went back to the fridge to grab the kimchi container. Dumping it, Mingyu let his random thoughts keep him company.

“I wonder if Soonyoung would eat after his shift,” he mumbled to himself. Mingyu wasn't exactly sure why he thought of that train conductor still, but he was the last person Mingyu interacted with so it was understandable, he reasoned. Working later than Mingyu, Soonyoung must get hungry during his shift late into the ungodly hours of the night. 

He cut up the sausages and stirred the rice around, watching the grains turn red from the kimchi coating. He plated the food after he turned off the stove and realized how much he made. Mingyu reached up on the top shelf of the cabinet above the fridge to grab a container before grunting when he realized the containers are in the bottom cabinets. He bent down and rummaged through, grabbing one. 

Mingyu placed the extra fried rice in the container and placed it on the counter, the lid next to it as he let it cool to room temperature. He began eating in front of his television catching up on the late night news. He looked over at the container from afar as he chewed his food. He finished his food quickly (he was hungrier than expected) and went back to the kitchen to wash the dishes. 

The kimchi fried rice in the container was staring at him. He thought of Soonyoung again. After washing, he placed the lid on top of the container and stacked it inside the fridge over the pickled radish. Quickly closing the door, he ran to his room to grab a sticky note and pen. He wrote Soonyoung’s name and ran back to open the fridge and pressed the note on the rice container. He'd give it to Soonyoung tomorrow night after his shift.

 

—

 

“Did you not finish your lunch?”

Mingyu looked up and sighed in relief as the faint heart stoppage form thinking it was his boss ceased. Mr. Choi smiled as he was sweeping the floor around Mingyu. A bit embarrassed that he had dozed off for a bit too long, Mingyu coughed and shook his head. “N-no, I ate my lunch. This isn’t for me, actually.”

“Who is it for them?”

“A… a friend, I suppose.” Mingyu mumbled to himself. Flustered, he shut off his laptop and organized his papers: one pile left as a neat stack on his desk and the other pile filed into his folder that he slid into his suitcase. He ruffled his head as he sighed at the thought that bringing his messenger bag today might have been more useful since it had enough room to carry the food for Soonyoung instead of him carrying it by hand.

The custodian smiled at Mingyu and checked the clock on the far side wall of the office. “It’s getting pretty late. I think you should head to the train station as soon as possible.” Mingyu gasped as he saw the time on his phone and bowed politely to Mr. Choi before rushing to the elevator. He has never missed the train before and he certainly doesn’t want this to be the first time he does, especially since he had food for the conductor.

He arrived at the train station out of breath, grateful that he still had at least two more minutes before the train arrived. He set his suitcase and the food in front of him on the floor. The suitcase leaned against his feet as he was bent over with his hands on his knees trying to gasp for air. Mingyu didn’t realize how hard it was to run in a suit and dress shoes, but he certainly learned how difficult it was that night. After catching his breath, he stood up straight and straightened his back, surprised to hear the crack after the readjustment. He picked up his suitcase with his left hand and checked his phone with his right hand. He had about a minute until the train arrived.

Peeking down at the food with the note that read Soonyoung’s name, Mingyu couldn’t help but feel his cheeks grow warm. He pouted at himself confused. He had just met Soonyoung the other night and barely even knew him, yet here he was offering Soonyoung food especially made for him. The train arrived a few passing thoughts later and Mingyu grabbed his suitcase and food as he headed inside.

Looking around, he was the only one on board in the cart again. The train started moving and Mingyu’s heart pounded at an accelerating rate like the wheels on the tracks. He wasn’t sure why it was doing that. He was just being nice to a stranger. Soonyoung was just a stranger and this was just a random act of kindness. There was no attachment or feelings with the food whatsoever, he told himself.

To make himself comfortable, he sat down with a yawn. He leaned back and stretched his legs out, he figured he could sit improperly since he was the only one around. He got his ticket out and ready and placed it out of his pocket on top of the food that sat next to him. Leaning back, he looked over at the food once again. He was really going to do this. Mingyu was actually going to give a complete stranger who he has not stopped thinking about a labour of love. Even with the confusing thoughts roaring throughout his mind, he came to the conclusion that he would do this for anyone he saw working hard. Mingyu made a mental note to himself to make it for someone else as well.

 

He wasn’t aware he fell asleep until the train’s speaker shut off the music at the sound of the voice saying that the train has reached the end of the line and it will be shutting down. Mingyu woke up abruptly and rubbed his eyes, gasping at the fact that he didn’t wake up at his are a few stops back. He groaned and ruffled his hair. Looking down, he saw his ticket was checked but the food was still sitting beside him. Confused and with a small pout, Mingyu picked them both up. He shoved the ticket back into its original spot in his pocket as he got off the train holding his suitcase and the container of food.

Mingyu wasn’t exactly sure where he was, even from looking at the map at the train station he couldn’t tell his exact location. He groaned and pulled out his phone, only to realize it had died while he took his short nap. “Oh great,” Mingyu mumbled. He looked around and saw just how eerie the station was with him being the only one standing around and the atmosphere complete empty. It was around midnight. The only thing accompanying him was the faint sounds of buzzing lights from the ceiling, the closed off shops, and the occasional cricket noise. 

As he walked up the stairs to the ground level to find the nearest bus stop—which appeared to be only a block away from where he stood. As Mingyu started walking over, he noticed how there were more cars driving around compared to his area. He figured it was just a busier street or a busier day. At the bus stop he noticed someone sitting down on the bench as well. The stranger was leaning against the pole of the bus schedule with a hood over their head.

It didn’t occur to Mingyu to even mind the stranger until he looked in his peripheral to see Soonyoung take off his hood and ruffle his hair. Mingyu gasped and coughed, trying to shake himself out of shock from the realization. Slowly—and somewhat shyly— Mingyu inched his way over to Soonyoung. Trying to act casual, he dropped his suitcase between the two of them, which earned Soonyoung’s attention. He leaned down and picked it up to hand to Mingyu and gasped when he saw Mingyu’s smile. Pulling out his earphones and off his hood, Soonyoung smiled. “Whoa, I didn’t expect seeing you here.”

“Neither did I,” Mingyu snickered. “You weren’t working today?”

“Huh?” Soonyoung blinked before snapping his fingers and nodding. “Oh, yeah. Wednesday’s are my day off since I have a busy day of classes in the afternoon.”

Mingyu gripped the suitcase tightly after Soonyoung handed it back to him. He wasn’t sure why his hands are sweaty. He looked to see the food he had prepared in his other hand and offered it to Soonyoung. “I made it for you,” he blushed. “I… I was kind of expecting to see you on the train tonight and, well, I wanted to make you something since you might’ve been hungry from working so late.” Mingyu blinked. “Y-you know, just as a random kind act,” he justified.

Soonyoung—who was also a bit shocked at the act—smiled thankfully and took it. “Oh wow,” he hummed as he saw his name written down on the sticky note. “You even wrote my name. Ah… thank you for this.” Soonyoung put it in the messenger back that had accompanied him before turning back to Mingyu. “It’s true, I don’t really have time to eat during my night shift… and even when I do, it’s just a snack from the convenience store. So, again, thank you.”

Shyly, Mingyu scratched the back of his neck, trying to act calmly as if he had not been thinking about giving Soonyoung food since the night they met. “Ah… it was no problem, really.”

“Let me return the favour,” Soonyoung smiled as he rummaged through his bag to grab a notebook.

Mingyu gasped and waved his hands frantically. “Oh, honestly, you don’t have to— I just wanted to do this—”

“When are you free on Friday?” Soonyoung asked as he scanned his schedule. “I can get off earlier if I have to since I just have one morning class that day.”

“Well,” Mingyu sighed, seeing he had no choice but to cooperate and give in, “I still work late like I usually do.” Soonyoung looked up shocked as Mingyu nodded. “I know, I’ve been working later the past few weeks, but it’s fine. It’s not like I usually have plans anyway. I can try to get off earlier though. Maybe… nine?”

Soonyoung nodded as he penciled in Mingyu’s name into the Friday box of that week. “Alright,” he grinned, “Friday at nine it is. Oh, wait. It would be easier if I come to your building, huh? Here, I’ll give you my number and you can text me your address.” Scribbling his number, he ripped out a sheet from the notebook before closing the it and putting it back into his bag. “Just text me your name, I should be able to figure out the rest.”

Handing his number over, Mingyu and Soonyoung’s fingers slightly caressed each others, but they both pretended to ignore the sudden skin contact. Mingyu smiled at the number and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll text you when I get home my building address.” They shared a smile before a bus pulled up. Soonyoung hummed, “this is mine. I’ll see you on Friday?” he asked. Mingyu nodded and they shared a smile together before Soonyoung waved, scanned his card, and found a seat on the bus.

As the bus began to drive away from the stop, Soonyoung sighed in relief as he turned his head to see Mingyu standing there waiting for the bus to his destination arrive. Soonyoung ruffled his hair and whined to himself. “Oh gosh, I look like a total bum.” He pulled out the food that Mingyu offered him and smiled as he opened the lid and gasped at the smell of the kimchi fried rice. Mingyu was even nice enough to include a plastic spoon for Soonyoung to use to eat. Sneakily, he began eating and hummed in delight at how delicious the food tasted.

As he was eating he couldn’t help but blush at the realization of what had just happened. Kwon Soonyoung really bumped into the handsome and nicely-dressed stranger he met a few nights ago and said stranger made food specifically for him. Honestly, Soonyoung wasn’t sure what to think of it—he couldn’t even think in general at this point because of the food high he was on at the moment—but the fact that he bumped into Mingyu again seemed more than just a coincidence. A coincidence would have been them meeting at the train station since Mingyu takes the late train and Soonyoung works that train’s line. This, however, this happened unexpectedly. As if they were supposed to meet again.

Soonyoung pulled the string above him as he stood up to walk to the bus doors to leave. He didn’t bother to shove the food into his bag as he scanned his card and hopped off. Humming to himself, he smiled when he saw one of his apartment neighbors waiting for the elevator. “You usually aren’t in the lobby this late, Mr. Choi,” Soonyoung nudged.

Mr. Choi turned and smiled. “Oh, and you usually aren’t either, especially since it’s Wednesday,” he snickered. “Were you busy today?”

“Hm, just the usual: classes, studied a bit, went to the gym, and now I’m here.” The elevator door opened and they both entered—Soonyoung letting the elder one step in first. Soonyoung pressed the floor for the fourth and fifth floor as Mr. Choi noticed the food in Soonyoung’s hand. A bit shocked himself, he smiled knowingly.

“You went out to eat?”

Soonyoung blinked and looked down at the food container he was still holding. He blushed a bit after he coughed. “Ah… I guess you could say that… I just got the food to go.” He gasped when the sticky note that was attached to the lid suddenly fell to the floor. Frantically, Soonyoung picked it up as he mumbled to himself as Mr. Choi just nodded at the recognition of the handwriting before the door opened to the fourth floor. They said their goodbyes to each other as Soonyoung was left by himself in the elevator to the floor above. “Gosh…” Soonyoung sighed as he leaned back against the wall. “I hope this isn’t a coincidence anymore…”

 

—

 

“Wow, you’re logging off earlier than I expected.” Turning around, Mingyu saw Mr. Choi smiling into the cubical. “Going out Friday night, I presume?”

Mingyu grinned happily as he slid the chair under his desk and turned off his monitor. “You could say that.” He snapped his fingers at the thought that crossed his mind and reached into his bag to pull out a container of food. He offered it to Mr. Choi politely, to which Mr. Choi took gratefully. “I just… wanted to thank you for your work… especially since you work so late like me. Ah, I understand how difficult it is to work such hours and I just… wanted to show my appreciation.”

“I really appreciate it, Mingyu,” Mr. Choi grinned, “especially since I have to stay a bit longer since your boss had a dinner meeting just a few hours ago. Mingyu frowned, realizing how much work the elder custodian had to clean. Mr. Choi shook his head. “No, don’t worry. I enjoy my job. Let me walk you to the elevator.” Mingyu smiled and grabbed his messenger bag, slinging it over his shoulder as he told Mr. Choi about his so called ‘date’ tonight.

The elevator door opened as soon as Mingyu pressed the button and he bowed to the elder as he entered. As he pressed the ground floor button and the doors began to slide close, Mr. Choi smiled and waved. “Have a good time with Soonyoung.”

 

“Whoa,” Soonyoung gasped as he blew the coffee mug in front of his lips. He took a hesitant sip before pressing the cup against his lips comfortably to drink at a steady pace.

Mingyu nodded as he was still stirring the creamer into his own coffee. “I know. Who knew you would be neighbors with the janitor from my work?” he snickered. He hummed and took a sip to make sure the cream and coffee ratio was to his liking. “It really is a small world after all, huh?”

“I'll say.” Soonyoung put the cup back on the coaster and smiled. He enjoyed the shop’s atmosphere of faint background music, other’s soft conversations, and the fact that the stranger he met on his shift on the train was no longer a stranger. “What do you do again? For work? Mr. Choi never really talked about the company before…”

Mingyu nodded and stopped drinking to talk properly. He wiped his mouth after pulling a nearby napkin through its dispenser. “It's a software company.” Soonyoung oohed, which earned a humble chuckle and shake if the head from Mingyu. “No, no I am not an engineer. I'm in the finance department.”

Soonyoung grimaced, making Mingyu laugh even more. “Sorry, it's just… math.” Soonyoung shuttered.

“Yeah, math. But, I don't really mind it. I don't think I can move up too much though… Might need to go back to school for a higher degree.”

“Oh, I definitely understand that.” Soonyoung nodded enthusiastically. “I went back for my Masters.”

Mingyu blinked, surprised bit intrigued. “Really? For what?”

“Literature,” Soonyoung beamed. He took another sip—a longer sip—before continuing. “I originally got a B.A. in English, but that hasn't really opened options up in the direction I wanted. So I just went back.”

“Did you go to a SKY school?”

“Oh, hell no,” Soonyoung chuckled. “I'm not that smart. But I enjoyed my undergrad life and the grad life… well, it's a struggle but I like it.”

“So do you have the conductor job to help pay for school?” Mingyu asked with curiosity. He wasn't sure why he was so into Soonyoung’s life, but here he was—at a coffee shop with him.

“You could say that,” Soonyoung shrugged after placing his empty mug back on the table. He leaned back in his chair and stretched. “But I quite like it. Especially since it's at night.”

“Less crowded?” Mingyu joked.

Soonyoung nodded. They both laughed. “No, but in all seriousness,” Soonyoung waved his hand, “I do enjoy the nightlife. The quiet nightlife. It's very… calming? I'm not sure how to describe it but it's like a whole new world to explore. As if the residual of the hectic 9-5 life ceased to exist.”

“Oh,” Mingyu hummed, “you are definitely a literature major.” Soonyoung scrunched his nose but smiled as he watched Mingyu laugh before finishing his own mug thereafter. 

“You know what's funny?” Soonyoung leaned his elbows on the table and brought his hands together—interlacing his fingers—in front of him. “I am so sure I have seen you before this. I used to work the earlier evening shifts when I was still an undergrad. I'm assuming that's where we originally bumped into each other.”

Mingyu nodded. “Oh, that's definitely possible.” Thinking back into his earlier years of his work experience, Mingyu tried to remember. “I don't know if I thought much of it though. A conductor just checks my ticket but it's all arbitrary to me. I guess it isn't for you since you pay more attention to people.”

“Because reading people—especially regulars—is like reading a good book,” Soonyoung giggled. He shrugged while he smiled at Mingyu. “Guess I picked out a right book from the crowd.” Soonyoung didn't notice Mingyu blushing, he was too busy checking his phone. “Oh, it's not even eleven yet. Let's take the train? We can get off at this one stop. There are probably buskers still playing since it's Friday night.”

“Hm… well, I'm not doing anything. Let's go, maybe we'll even see some idols,” Mingyu joked. They both left the coffee shop and headed off to the nearest train station.

They kept joking around and nudging each other's arms, laughing as they did. Mingyu was in awe of Soonyoung saying he can get them both pass the card scanner for free since he worked for the train company. It wasn't often that Mingyu had this sort of privilege. And as unexciting as it sounds, Mingyu was in awe—of both the privilege and Soonyoung himself.

It was crowded at the station compared to usual, since it was a basically the start of the weekday, and Mingyu and Soonyoung were forced to break personal bubbles with each other and hook arms to avoid getting lost. However, neither seemed to mind. Soonyoung kept glancing up at Mingyu and smiled. He mumbled to himself before tugging Mingyu’s arm. “Hey, Gyu?” he snickered at the nickname. 

“Hey, Soon,” Mingyu grinned back with the nickname comeback.

“Do you… want to do this again?” Soonyoung blinked. “Ah… not just bump into each other in the train or me checking your ticket… but… like what we did at the shop.” He blushed shyly. “We split the coffee bill but I want to treat you out. T-to make it up to you for how you made lunch for me so… randomly.”

Mingyu wasn't sure what the extra thump in his heart rate meant, but he was hoping it was from the way Soonyoung was looking at him with sparkling eyes or the way Soonyoung was clinging to his arm tightly. After calming down, he coughed. “That sounds like a good idea,” Mingyu grinned shyly. They both smiled before looking away from each other.

It wasn't long until they both were in the train, practically engulfing each other as they stood from how crowded the train was that night. Though, they didn't seem to mind. In fact, they were both subtly thankful for it being crowded rather than the empty crowd both of them were used to because it was a good excuse for them to get closer.

The murmurs of the crowd were soft, but piled onto each other made the cart seem heavy with conversations. Despite that, Mingyu was still able to focus on Soonyoung’s breathing against his arm. And as weird as that was to admit to himself, Mingyu neither found it awkward nor uncomfortable. “Hey, Soon?” he asked. Somehow, Soonyoung was also able to hear Mingyu through the crowd. “I can make you something again. Or maybe… you can come over and I can make something for the both of us.

Soonyoung’s eyes widened at the offer. The smile on his face and the enthusiastic nod was enough to answer Mingyu’s question. “I would like that,” Soonyoung agreed. “Wow, we have so many plans to hang out… I hope we get to fulfill them all. Especially with our busy schedules.”

The train stopped at their stop and Mingyu pulled away from Soonyoung, only to grab Soonyoung’s hand and lead him out of the car. “Oh, don't worry. I think the train would bring us back together anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! shoutout to the mods for creating this fic fest! excited to see everyone else's creations!! my prompt was "Mingyu starts taking more night shifts/working later at night, Soonyoung is the night conductor of the train Mingyu takes;' and rather than take a long turn like i had originally intended, i challenged myself with a new style and new perspective. hopefully you all liked it as much as i enjoyed writing it ; v ;


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